Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 After three consecutive years of substantial tax cuts in West Virginia, including legislation that put the income tax on the path to zero, Governor Patrick Morrisey urged the legislature to continue the state’s historic progress with another 5 to 10% reduction to the income tax.
“Cutting the income tax is probably the cleanest way to help all individuals in West Virginia afford everyday life,” Morrisey said in his Tuesday announcement. “I think we’re in a position to deliver real tax relief that strengthens families, supports our businesses and really continues to position West Virginia well in this backyard brawl effort.”
Thanks to years of steady progress and a blockbuster first year of economic growth under Morrisey, West Virginia is well-positioned to take another swing at the income tax. While the state barely missed the bar to automatically lower its income tax rate under “revenue triggers” passed in 2024, Morrisey hopes to pass tax cuts anyway with state coffers flush with excess revenue – $128 million above projections.
Morrisey emphasized that additional tax cuts could help West Virginia collect even more revenue as the economy grows.
“I would note that despite the nearly six percent reduction in income tax rates that occurred last year, our collections are nearly flat for this fiscal year, and in consumer sales taxes they’re up nearly 10% for this fiscal year,” Gov. Morrisey said. “I think that shows that when we put more money back in people’s pockets, people certainly know how to spend it wisely and that can be used to stimulate our economy further.”
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, hailed the Governor’s leadership.
“Governor Morrisey’s plan to cut taxes for the fourth year in a row would allow West Virginia to leap ahead in the nationwide race to eliminate income taxes,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “With triggers to zero in place, now is the perfect time for the legislature to put its surplus revenue to good use by returning it to the people and making West Virginia more competitive with states like neighboring Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Ohio, which cut its income tax rate to 2.75% and became the 24th flat tax state on January 1.”
Having only controlled the levers of power for a single decade after 150 years of unified Democrat control, the West Virginia GOP has already enacted countless pieces of landmark legislation that advance pro-growth, conservative policy. Those laws include universal Hope Scholarships (education savings accounts for all children), Right to Work, universal licensing reciprocity, the REINS Act, and broad permitting reform.
Indeed, limiting the size and scope of government is standard operating procedure for the West Virginia GOP. Cutting waste and making agencies more efficient has been a hallmark of the Morrisey administration, with a 2% across-the-board cut to agencies taking effect this year. Morrisey also championed the sale of long-term care facilities that were sucking up taxpayer dollars, putting those healthcare services back into the more efficient private sector where they belong.
With more tax cuts to come in 2026, Americans for Tax Reform looks forward to working with the West Virginia legislature and Governor Morrisey to make the state more competitive and successful for generations to come.
